Armed Conflicts

Western Double Standards on Deadly Cluster Bombs

By Thalif Deen
The 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) banned the use of these deadly weapons for two primary reasons: they release small bomblets over a wide area, posing extended risks beyond war zones, and they leave behind unexploded ordnance which have killed civilians, including women and children, long after conflicts have ended.

Rich Gulf Nations Tight-Lipped on Growing Refugee Crisis

By Thalif Deen
As Western and Central European nations seem overwhelmed by the growing refugee crisis – triggered mostly by the inflow of hundreds and thousands of displaced people largely from Syria, Libya, Afghanistan and Iraq – one lingering question remains unanswered: why aren’t some of the rich Arab Gulf nations reaching out to help these hapless refugees?

Opinion: Women’s Major Role in Culture of Peace – Part Two

By Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury
Another reality that emerges very distinctly in culture of peace is that we should never forget when women – half of world’s seven billion plus people - are marginalised and their equality is not established in all spheres of human activity, there is no chance for our world to get sustainable peace in the real sense.

Opinion: Promoting Culture of Peace Through Dialogue – Part One

By Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury
This week, for the fourth time in a row, the annual gathering of the apex intergovernmental body of the United Nation deliberating on peace and non-violence will take place at the U.N. headquarters in New York.

Investigators Dismiss Mexican Government’s Official Story on Missing Students

By Kanya D'Almeida
A group of independent investigators has roundly dismissed the Mexican government’s claims that the 43 students who went missing in the southwestern city of Iguala last fall were burned to ashes in a garbage dump, reigniting an international outcry against the disappearance and heaping pressure on the government to provide answers to families of the victims.

Opinion: Nuclear States Do Not Comply with the Non-Proliferation Treaty

By Farhang Jahanpour
Article Six of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) makes it obligatory for nuclear states to get rid of their nuclear weapons as part of a bargain that requires the non-nuclear states not to acquire nuclear weapons. Apart from the NPT provisions, there have been a number of other rulings that have reinforced those requirements.

Opinion: Iran and the Non-Proliferation Treaty

By Farhang Jahanpour
Iran’s nuclear programme has been the target of a great deal of misinformation, downright lies and above all myths. As a result, it is often difficult to unpick truth from falsehood. 

European Residents Offer Support, Homes to Refugees

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage
As the migration crisis in Europe continues to grow and government response remains slow, European citizens have taken it upon themselves to act by opening up their homes to those in need.

Europe Invaded Mostly by “Regime Change” Refugees

By Thalif Deen
The military conflicts and political instability driving hundreds of thousands of refugees into Europe were triggered largely by U.S. and Western military interventions for regime change – specifically in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria (a regime change in-the-making).

Opinion: Can Nuclear War be Avoided?

By Gunnar Westberg
The Canberra Commission on the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons had as members former leading politicians or military officers, among others a British Field Marshal, an American General, an American Secretary of Defence and a French Prime Minister.

Killing of Aid Workers Threatens Humanitarian Response in Yemen

By Kanya D'Almeida
With 21 million Yemeni civilians caught in the grips of a conflict that has been escalating since March, the killing of two local aid workers Wednesday could worsen their misery, as a major humanitarian organisation considers the future of its operations in parts of the war-torn country.

Despite Treaty, Conventional Arms Fuel Ongoing Conflicts

By Thalif Deen
Despite last year’s Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), the proliferation of conventional weapons, both legally and illegally, continues to help fuel military conflicts in several countries in the Middle East and Africa, including Syria, Iraq, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Libya and Yemen.

U.N. Officials Warn of Dengue Outbreak in War-Torn Yemen

By Kanya D'Almeida
An outbreak of dengue fever in Yemen’s most populated governorate has prompted urgent calls from the World Health Organisation (WHO) for a “humanitarian corridor” to facilitate the flow of medicines to over three million civilians trapped in the war-torn area.

Europe Squabbles While Refugees Die

By Thalif Deen
As tens of thousands of refugees continue to flee conflict-ridden countries, including Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria, Western European governments and international humanitarian organisations are struggling to cope with a snowballing humanitarian crisis threatening to explode.

Disarmament Conference Ends with Ambitious Goal – But How to Get There?

By Ramesh Jaura
A three-day landmark U.N. Conference on Disarmament Issues has ended here – one day ahead of the International Day Against Nuclear Tests – stressing the need for ushering in a world free of nuclear weapons, but without a consensus on how to move towards that goal.

U.S.-Made Cluster Munitions Causing Civilian Deaths in Yemen

By Kanya D'Almeida
New research released today by a leading human rights watchdog has found evidence of seven attacks involving cluster munitions in Yemen’s northwestern Hajja governorate.

Opinion: A Farewell to Arms that Fuel Atrocities is Within Our Grasp

By Marek Marczynski
The recent explosions that apparently destroyed a 2,000-year-old temple in the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria were yet another grim example of how the armed group calling itself the Islamic State (IS) uses conventional weapons to further its agenda.

Deliberate Targeting of Water Sources Worsens Misery for Millions of Syrians

By Kanya D'Almeida
Imagine having to venture out into a conflict zone in search of water because rebel groups and government forces have targeted the pipelines. Imagine walking miles in the blazing summer heat, then waiting hours at a public tap to fill up your containers. Now imagine realizing the jugs are too heavy to carry back home.

U.N. Chief Warns of Growing Humanitarian Crisis in Northeastern Nigeria

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage
With over 1.5 million displaced, 800,000 of whom are children, and continuously escalating violence in northeastern Nigeria, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon described the humanitarian situation as “particularly worrying” during a visit to the country.

Poverty and Slavery Often Go Hand-in-Hand for Africa’s Children

By Jeffrey Moyo
“Poverty has become part of me,” says 13-year-old Aminata Kabangele from the Democratic Republic of Congo. “I have learned to live with the reality that nobody cares for me.”

Majority of Child Casualties in Yemen Caused by Saudi-Led Airstrikes

By Kanya D'Almeida
Of the 402 children killed in Yemen since the escalation of hostilities in March 2015, 73 percent were victims of Saudi coalition-led airstrikes, a United Nations official said Monday.
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